Diplomas ‘too difficult’ for pupils

A survey has found that diplomas, the government’s alternative to A levels and GCSEs, are too difficult.

The Association of Colleges (AoC) has found that diplomas are too difficult for thousands of the teenagers they were designed for.

The equivalent of seven GSCEs at grades A* to C, the diploma was created for pupils who did not achieve five GSCEs passes at 16.

But college managers said that they were better suited to more able students.

Debbie Ribchester, the report’s main author, and head of 14 to 19 year olds’ curriculum at the AoC, said: “Schools and colleges are reluctant to accept learners with average, or below average, prior attainment on to diploma courses, with the result that a number of young people may need an alternative learning route.”

She added that problems with diplomas might deter colleges from offering them, according to the Guardian.